Nine former big leaguers get non-roster invitations to Twins camp

The Twins announced 20 nonroster invitees to training camp on Monday, a group that includes nine players who have been in the major leagues.

The 10 pitchers on minor league contracts headed to Fort Myers, Fla., are lefthanders Charlie Barnes, Sam Clay, Danny Coulombe, Blaine Hardy and Caleb Thielbar; and righthanders Jhoulys Chacin, Edwar Colina, Ryan Garton, Griffin Jax and Jake Reed.

Catchers Juan Graterol, Ryan Jeffers, Ben Rortvedt and Tomás Telis were also invited, along with infielders Royce Lewis, Jack Reinheimer and Wilfredo Tovar.

Minor league standout outfielders Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach and Brent Rooker will also be with the big club.

Chacin, 32, has been in the major leagues for 11 seasons but had a forgettable 2019 season, going 3-12 with a 6.01 ERA with Milwaukee and Boston.

In 2018 he led the National League with 35 starts, when he was 15-8 with a 3.50 ERA with 156 strikeouts in 192 innings.

Chacin, a native of Venezuela, has also pitched for the Rockies, Diamondbacks, Padres, Angels and Braves. He is 72-79 in 220 career appearances, 204 of them starts.

Hardy, 32, pitched in 233 games over the past six seasons for the Tigers. He was 14-10 with a 3.73 ERA. In 282⅔ innings he has 229 strikeouts. Last season, his ERA ballooned to 4.47 but he had a career-best 1.15 WHIP.

After pitching for Lewis and Clark's 2008 NAIA championship team, Hardy was drafted by Kansas City in the 22nd round. He reached Class AAA for the Royals before they released him in 2013. The Tigers signed him and he reached the majors the following year.

Hardy made $1.3 million in 2019, but had elbow problems and was sent to Class AAA Toledo in August before going on the 60-day injured list. He will not be on the Twins' 40-man roster.

Garton, 29, pitched in two games for Seattle last season, and had a 3.99 ERA in 65.1 innings with Class AAA Tacoma. He's also pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays before going to Seattle; in 59 major league games he has one save and a 4.90 ERA in 64.1 innings. Garton was a 34th round pick by the Rays in 2012 out of Florida Atlantic, and was traded to the Mariners in August, 2017.

The 30-year-old Graterol played in six games for the Reds last season after having a three-game cup of coffee with the Twins in 2018. In 58 games last season at Class AAA Louisville he hit .249 with two home runs. A native of Venezuela, he was the starting catcher in Joe Mauer's final game with the Twins.

Thielbar was at Class AAA Toledo and Class AAA Gwinnett in 2019. The 32-year-old has pitched in 109 major league games for the Twins from 2013-15, also pitched for the St. Paul Saints, and was recently named pitching coach at Augustana.

Reinheimer, 27, was at Class AAA Norfolk in the Baltimore organization last season. He's been the majors for 28 games with Arizona and the Mets after being a fifth-round pick by Seattle in 2013.

Tovar, 28, played in 31 games for the Angels last season, spending much of it at AAA Salt Lake; he played for Rochester in 2016, stealing 29 bases. He played briefly for the Mets in 2013-14.

Telis played at Class AAA Rochester last season. Rortvedt, Jeffers, Colina, Barnes, Lewis, Kirilloff, Rooker, Larnach, Jax, Reed and Clay were in the Twins' minor league system as well in 2019.